Property data and analytics company CoreLogic Inc. has rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from two of its major investors, Cannae Holdings and Senator Investment Group.
In a statement, CoreLogic Chairman Paul Folino described the bid as an “opportunistic proposal.”
On June 26, Cannae and Senator — who jointly own or have an economic interest equivalent to approximately 15% of CoreLogic’s outstanding common stock — offered to buy CoreLogic for $65 per share in cash. That amounted to about $7 billion.
In a statement, Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic today said its board of directors has “unanimously concluded that the unsolicited proposal significantly undervalues the company, raises serious regulatory concerns, and is not in the best interests of its shareholders.”
Chairman Folino said that his company is open to “all viable paths to increasing shareholder value,” and is willing to meet with Cannae and Senator. However, given what he described as CoreLogic’s “strong momentum, increasing margins and accelerating growth,” the company could deliver more value on its own.
He also noted that the proposal failed to address “the serious regulatory concerns” raised by significant overlaps between CoreLogic and the network of companies associated with Cannae’s chairman, including Black Knight and Fidelity National. Cannae is led by Bill Foley, the chairman of Black Knight, a data and analytics company that directly competes with CoreLogic.
This morning, at the time of writing, CoreLogic’s shares were up around 2% to $68.45.
CoreLogic has a market cap of $5.4 billion. In April, the company reported increased first quarter revenue of $444 million while net income from continuing operations was also higher, at $34 million. It also recorded adjusted EBITDA of $130 million, which was up 33%, compared to $98 million in the 2019 first quarter.
This morning, CoreLogic also provided higher 2021 and 2022 financial guidance, while increasing share reauthorization to $1 billion. The company also said it expects its 2020 financial results “to materially exceed previously issued revenue, EBITDA and EPS guidance ranges, driven principally by continued market share gains and operating leverage.”
“CoreLogic today is far more than a play on U.S. mortgage volumes, and our materially increased full-year 2020 financial guidance and new 2021 and 2022 guidance underscore the Board’s confidence that our strategy is working,” Folino added.
Cannae and Senator did not take too kindly to CoreLogic’s rejection, issuing a statement of their own Tuesday, claiming that the company had rejected their proposal “without any sign of seriously considering it.” For more details on that, check out our latest story here.
